The Kano State Film and Video Censorship Board has abruptly suspended 22 Hausa-language series for sidestepping the state’s compulsory pre-release review.
This is a sweeping crackdown on Kannywood
Executive Secretary Abba El-Mustapha announced the move on May 19, 2025, invoking the board’s statutory authority to vet every production before it reaches screens within—or beyond—Kano’s borders.
From Inception to Intervention
Since its formal establishment in 2001 under Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Kano Censorship Board has positioned itself as Kannywood’s gatekeeper, tasked with safeguarding cultural and religious values through systematic review of scripts and final cuts. But critics argue that such interventions often blur into political grandstanding, threatening the industry’s creative autonomy.
Titles Grounded, Deadlines Set
Among the halted series are household favorites and rising stars—Labarina, Dadin Kowa, Gidan Sarauta, Wasiyya, and Manyan Mata, to name a few. All producers have been ordered to cease public broadcast and online streaming immediately, then submit their works for formal censorship clearance by May 25, 2025, or face legal action under Kano’s censorship statutes.
Digital Rights on the Line
The heavy-handed suspension has sparked alarm beyond film circles. The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) warned that such blanket bans could infringe on citizens’ digital freedoms, driving creators to unregulated platforms that lack the very cultural safeguards officials seek to uphold. Observers fear this sets a chilling precedent: today it’s 22 series, tomorrow it could be any voice deemed unsanctioned.
A Call for Unified Oversight
In tandem with the suspensions, El-Mustapha urged television networks and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission to enforce Kano’s censorship protocols nationwide, pitching the oversight as vital to “professionalizing” Hausa cinema and protecting viewers from unvetted content. Yet for many in Kannywood, the measure feels less like quality control and more like a regulatory siege.
As the May 25 deadline looms, producers must navigate Kano’s censorship gauntlet—or risk watching their creations languish in legal limbo. For Nigeria’s vibrant Hausa film industry, this purge may prove a crucible: will Kannywood adapt and emerge stronger, or will its storytellers find their screens silenced under the weight of bureaucratic scrutiny?
